


no place like this

by dreamplan



Category: NCT (Band), WayV (Band)
Genre: Adopted Children, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Separation Anxiety, Team as Family, hard of hearing character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-18
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-12-22 19:50:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21082157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamplan/pseuds/dreamplan
Summary: Parenthood is hard. Parenthood is harder when you have six kids and they're all under the age of ten, meaning: crying, temper tantrums, drama with other PTA parents, messes all over the house, and loud demands to have dinosaur nuggets instead of the nice, healthy dinner you made.At least Ten and Kun have wine. And each other. But more importantly, wine.





	no place like this

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first nct/wayv fic, and my first fic under this pseud. sorry to start off with such tedious opening notes, but please read through them! it will be easier for you to understand the setting of the fic.
> 
> 1\. those in '99 line and younger are kids. 99z are eight, 00z are six, chenle is four. the ages of the adults are a little messier, but i'll probably mention it at some point, so not to worry. i'm using the korean age system, so you can mentally subtract a year if you're invested in child development, or something of the like.
> 
> 2\. it is assumed that all conversations in the kunten household are in mandarin, and i'll specify whenever they switch to korean. there will also be bits about chinese language and culture that may be unknown to non-chinese readers, but explanations will be in the end notes!
> 
> 3\. there will be topics such as anxiety and learning disabilities in this fic. all the kids' backstories will be revealed as we go along, so do check the tags if there's anything you need to know about.
> 
> 4\. this is a fic for stress relief more than anything else, meaning the update schedule is irregular, and frankly i only have a vague idea of what i want to do. that said, feel free to request things that you want to see in the comments, and if it fits in with the (shitty) plot outline i have rn, i'll write it!
> 
> and now, the kunten/china line family au nobody asked for but i wanted for myself ~

Getting all the kids up in the morning is always hell.

Distantly, Ten registers the alarm going off, and he's reluctantly dragged into wakefulness. He squeezes his eyes shut, groaning, and covers his head with his pillow. It's been more than a decade since he went to high school, and yet everyday when his phone screams from its smug little throne on his bedside table, he's thrown back into a time when he had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and cram eight subjects' worth of information into his brain for several hours. It's not a pleasant memory.

"Oh, fucking—" He hears his husband mumble, before he's crushed under the weight of Kun's torso as he reaches over Ten to paw blindly at the bedside table. One of his attempts must hit the mark, because the alarm falls silent as abruptly as he started. Ten sighs, already starting to fall back asleep with Kun's warm weight atop of him, but then Kun pulls away and mumbles under his breath as he gets out of bed. "Why do we set the alarms on your phone when _I_ always end up being the one who turns them off—"

Ten replies with a word that isn't a word, mere moments away from that beautiful state of unconsciousness he was in just a minute ago, but Kun taps his leg as he rounds the bed frame on his way out of the room. "I'm gonna get the twins up. Five minutes, then it's your turn with the trio."

Somehow, Ten finds the strength within him to form actual words and curses in a grumbled, drawn-out whine. He hears Kun chuckle before the door clicks shut after him. Fuck that guy. They have to take turns in the bathrooms in the morning, so one parent has to wake up earlier to take the first shift of bathroom duty. Waking the twins up rather than the trio is the only advantage to being the first parent up, and pretty much every morning, it's a perk that Kun enjoys. Kun is more robot than human when he hasn't had his coffee yet, but at least he can get out of bed in the first place.

Five minutes passes faster than he'd like, and it seems like it's only been a second when the second alarm starts blaring. Ten is the one who has to turn it off this time, and he spends a couple of moments just reminding himself of every good reason they decided to start a family before he stumbles out of bed like he's still in college and hungover, except rather than partying last night, he helped his kids with homework, did the laundry and discussed the possibility of getting a Roomba with his husband of six years. Jesus.

The trio's room is the one closest to the living room, and is also the largest after Kun and Ten's room. Ten, even in his grumpiest, most sleep-deprived state, always smiles when he sees the name tags stuck to the door. Renjun and Yangyang had made them in their first year of kindergarten, a simple arts-and-crafts project covered in glitter and scribbles in both Mandarin and Korean, but Kun had let them stick it on their bedroom door because Yangyang had had a tantrum the day before over the twins getting dinosaur bedsheets. When Dejun had joined their family, Renjun quietly asked Ten for some spare cardboard from the office, and the next day there had been a third tag up on their door, with Dejun's name in wobbly script and a bunch of stickers. Kun had cried, and Ten felt pretty damn close to it himself.

He pushes the door open, feeling more awake after that rush of endorphins. All three kids are still asleep, the nightlight projecting stars and moons onto the walls. Ten flicks the main light switch, and the sudden change in brightness is enough to get Renjun stirring. Ten starts with him; he's the easiest kid the handle in the morning, and Ten always preferred to work his way up to the hard things. 

"Renjun, it's time to get up," he says, the last bit in a slightly louder voice so the other two hear it too. Renjun mumbles something that Ten can't decipher, but he sits up and starts rubbing his eyes. He's still tiny enough that his head is nowhere near hitting the bottom of the top bunk even if he's sitting upright, and in his elephant-patterned pajamas, with the blanket pooling in his lap, he looks so adorable Ten can't resist bending down and kissing his forehead. Renjun giggles and squirms away from him, pretty much fully awake by now, and swings his legs over the side of his bed. "Is Baba making breakfast?"

"I don't know, probably. Go on, bathroom now. Ask your brothers to get your toothbrush, I'll be there in a minute," Ten says, straightening. Renjun nods and scampers out of the door. God, that was the easy part. Ten watches him go with a twinge in his heart — bless his little morning fairy, Ten might not survive mornings if they had put Guanheng in the same room as Yangyang and Dejun (not that he and Xuxi would have let that happen, anyway) — and turns back to the problem in the top bunk.

"Yangyang, baby, up," he says, shaking Yangyang's shoulder gently. Or what he assumes is Yangyang's shoulder, he's not quite tall enough to see over the bed frame. Yangyang's groan travels down to him anyway. "Daddy, five more minutes."

Sometimes, Ten swears Yangyang is his biological child. "I feel you, bud, but you need to get up, you have school."

"No. Sleep now."

"Come on, baby, last night you wanted to go to school so bad, remember? You said there's going to be show-and-tell today, and you get to bring your race car to school," Ten coaxes, secretly grateful that Yangyang had been so excited about it last night. It had been a pain putting him to bed, but at least that made waking him up a lot easier.

There's a moment of stillness wherein Yangyang processes this, and then a few shuffling noises and a loud yawn, before Yangyang is shimmying down the ladder to the ground. Kun is always worried he's going to fall and split his head, but Ten is personally very amused by how Yangyang seems to be part-monkey, taking to that ladder like a fish to water.

"Where's my race car, Daddy?" He asks once he's on the ground, looking around the room. Ten frowns; Kun had been on toy clean-up duty last night while he read with Xuxi, but the toy car isn't on the shelf across the room where it usually is. "I don't know, Baba helped you put it away last night. Didn't I tell you to always put your toys back where they were before?"

"I thought I did!" Yangyang protests, then looks away, pouting. "I forgot, though."

Ten levels him with a look, but he doesn't have time to launch into a lecture about Yangyang's abysmal organisation skills right now. Instead, he ruffles Yangyang's hair and tells him, "I'll help you look for it later, after you eat breakfast. Now, bathroom. Shoo."

Yangyang doesn't need telling twice, already moving before Ten can finish speaking. And then there was one. The highest hurdle.

Ten turns to look at Dejun to find him already awake, curled up under his blanket with a worried look creasing his eyebrows. Ten goes to sit on his bed and strokes his hair, preparing himself for the battle ahead. "Hey, baby. How you feeling today?"

"I don't wanna go to school," Dejun says immediately. Ten stifles a sigh, knowing that showing even the slightest sort of disapproval in the morning just fuels Dejun's anxiety. This is the part he hates most about waking up this trio of kids. Not because Dejun is a nightmare, or a troublesome kid; in fact, he's the only one out of their six children who can be quiet for more than five minutes in public, and he always plays well with Chenle while Kun is cooking dinner and Ten isn't home yet, and he's so sweet and affectionate towards his parents that Ten sometimes thinks he and Kun don't deserve him. No, Ten hates this part because he always feels like the bad guy in the face of Dejun's separation anxiety, even though Dejun's psychologist says he has to do this.

"I know that," he says, stroking Dejun's hair. The kid already looks close to tears, and they've barely begun the back-and-forth they do every morning. "I'm sorry, baby, but you have to go. Xuxi and Guanheng will be there with you, okay? You'll be back before you know it, and Baba and I will still be here, I promise."

"Daddy, please, I really don't want to go," Dejun begs, and Ten's heart shatters. He _hates_ doing this, and privately he thinks the reason Kun is motivated to wake up earlier than him is that he can't say no to Dejun, not ever. He wants to cave in, to let Dejun stay home from school and cling to Kun all day and then Ten all night after he comes home from work, but that will only ingrain bad habits into the both of them. So instead he holds up his pinky finger. "Do you have anything else you want me to promise today?"

The promises were a thing that Dr Moon suggested, to build trust between Dejun and his parents. Every time they fulfilled their promises, it reinforced the idea that Dejun could always rely on them. Of course, Ten couldn't promise him outrageous things like _I promise to buy you a pony_ or even things that might not always be true, _I promise our family will never have any problems._ But he could promise that he and Kun would always be there for Dejun, and he could make promises about small things that make Dejun happy and less afraid. 

Dejun sniffs, but after a moment he brings his arm out from under the blanket and sticks his little finger up as well. "Promise to pick us up after school today?"

"You know I will." Ten always has a half-day on Fridays, so that he can pick up the kids from school, and bring them home in time for lunch with Chenle. Kun works from home for most of the week, but he always schedules any meetings on Friday afternoons, so Ten worked out a compromise with his boss. It's one of Ten's favourite parts of the week. "Anything else?"

Dejun chews on his bottom lip, before asking, his voice meek, "Can we have seafood soup for dinner? The kind that I like the best."

That startles a laugh out of Ten. "I can't promise you it'll be as good as Baba's cooking, but sure, I can make seafood soup."

"But you and Baba cook the best food," Dejun says. Ten's heart warms, and he smiles, big and soft. "Thank you, baby. I promise that Baba and I will be right here after school, and I'll come pick you up after school, and I'll make seafood soup for dinner. Now, what do you promise me?"

"I promise I'll tell the teacher if I feel sick, or if I feel feelings-bad," Dejun recites. His separation anxiety disorder often gives him nausea and headaches, and he's had a few anxiety attacks even before he became part of their family. Luckily, the teachers at his school were very understanding when Ten and Kun had explained Dejun's situation to them, and promised to keep an eye on him. Even so, Dr Moon says that it's best if Dejun learns to assess his emotions and identify signs of his anxiety before they spiral into an attack.

"Good job. What do you promise yourself?"

Dejun inhales. "That I'll be good to me. And I'll be okay, even if I don't feel like it now."

Ten smiles encouragingly, pleased, and then they link pinkies and press the pads of their thumbs together. He pulls Dejun up and into a hug after they break apart. "You're a good kid, baby, you're doing so well," he murmurs, rubbing circles into his back. "I'm proud of you."

Dejun is, though small for an eight-year-old, already too big to carry, but Ten figures he's earned it for putting as much of a fuss as he normally would. The bathroom isn't far from the bedroom, anyway. Perks of living in an apartment. When Ten gets there, Renjun and Yangyang are waiting, their toothbrushes in their hands. Ten notices that one of their brothers had helped to squeeze some toothpaste onto their toothbrushes, but ultimately it hadn't mattered for Yangyang, who had smeared the toothpaste on his pajamas. Ten really does wonder how that kid manages to make a mess wherever he goes. He brushes his teeth together with the kids, and monitors Yangyang and Renjun as they do it themselves. They only learned to brush their teeth on their own this year, and it's extremely messy and they get toothpaste foam all over their face, but when Ten looks at them he just mourns when they were still toddlers and hadn't started kindergarten yet. At least Chenle still has two years before he's brushing his teeth and tying his shoelaces by himself.

Yangyang does it quickly and impatiently, as he does with everything, and he's running off before Ten has even spit in the sink. Renjun is a little more meticulous, though not by much, and Dejun waits until Ten is done before following him to the dining table. A murmur of sleepy _"Good morning's"_ greets him as he finds another plate for Dejun, and he ruffles Xuxi's hair as he passes. Kun is leaning against the kitchen island, a mug of coffee in his hand, and he looks surprised that they're at breakfast earlier than usual, but Ten waves him away. _I'll tell you later._ The twins are already on their last bites of toast, their glasses empty, and Yangyang is chomping into his like he hasn't eaten in days.

"Slow down, Yangyang, you'll get a tummy ache," Kun says over the rim of his coffee mug. He raps his knuckles against the countertop, next to where Ten's mug is placed. Ten smiles gratefully as he makes his way over and takes a gulps, the bitter taste washing away the last vestiges of sleep. Somewhere during the second year of their marriage, Kun had perfected the timing of brewing coffee so it was the perfect temperature by the time Ten joined him for breakfast, since he always got up later, even when they didn't have kids yet.

"Dejun had an easy start today, just usual promises and one about cooking seafood soup," Ten murmurs in between sips, and Kun makes an approving noise, shooting a fond glance in Dejun's direction. 

"This is the shortest time he's ever taken to come to breakfast," Kun says. "Do you think I should mention it to Dr Moon during his appointment?"

"Okay, yeah. But don't pin all your hopes on this, we still have to see how he's like next week as well," Ten says. He doesn't want to burst his husband's bubble, but that's just what having a child with a psychiatric disorder was like: two steps forward one day, ten steps back the next. 

"I know," Kun says, biting his lip, and then there's only the clatter of plates and clink of milk glasses filling the air. The twins, now done with breakfast, bring their plates and cups to the sink. Guanheng says over his shoulder, a little too loudly for the early morning, "Dejun, hurry up, the bus is gonna be here soon!"

"Guanheng," Ten chides, raising his voice because his right side is facing them. "Quieter."

"Sorry," Guanheng says, now at a normal volume. Xuxi blows a raspberry in his ear as he bumps Guanheng out of the way and puts his tableware in the sink, and Guanheng yelps and elbows him in the side. "Hey! I can still feel your spit on my ear, okay?"

"Don't do that to your brother, you know he doesn't like it," Kun says tiredly. So much of their morning routine consisted of nagging their children, it was a wonder they had energy to do anything else during the day.

The other three children finally finish their breakfast as well, even though Dejun is a notoriously slow eater, and Kun rounds up the eight-year-olds to change into their school uniforms. Ten leaves his half-empty mug of coffee on the island and washes up, then goes to the younger two's room to check on them. The kindergarten they go to doesn't require a uniform, and most days they just throw on whatever first catches their eye in their closet. Today, Yangyang chooses a plain grey hoodie tee and cargo shorts, and Renjun picks a dinosaur-print T-shirt and camouflage bermudas. The interior designer in Ten dies a little bit at how badly Renjun's outfit clashes, but the parent in him wins out, and he praises them for looking so cute while helping them with their shoes and socks.

Kun ushers the other three out to the living room while Ten is putting all their lunchboxes and water bottles into the correct backpacks, Chenle propped against his hip. He straightens up, feeling a smile spread on his face when he sees his youngest. Chenle's eyes are still droopy with sleep, his chubby cheek squished against Kun's shoulder and hands fisted in his shirt. Kun laughs quietly. "_Kaixinguo_ woke up when the these two —" He nods his head towards Guanheng and Xuxi, excitedly chattering with Dejun quietly lacing up his shoes next to them. "— Got too noisy."

"They've got to learn how to be quieter in the morning," Ten sighs, shouldering his own bag. "Or at all times of the day, really."

"Oh, that'll be the day," Kun snorts. He calls out to Renjun and Yangyang, their Velcro shoes already done up, before turning back to Ten. "I'll do backpacks, you help Guanheng."

Ten agrees, passing off the backpacks to Kun, and beckoning Guanheng over. "Baby, where's your hearing aid?"

"I got it for him!" Xuxi holds up its metallic blue case, handing it over to Ten. He unzips it and takes out the hearing aid of the same shade, looping its plastic body around the back of Guanheng's right ear and gently pushing the earpiece into his ear canal. Guanheng reaches up to switch it on himself, and beams at Ten. "Thanks, Daddy."

"Mm, no problem, go get your backpack from Baba," Ten says, side-stepping his small herd of kids to unlock the door. He turns back to face all of them, shoes worn, teeth brushed, backpacks on. "Everyone got everything? The schoolbus is coming soon."

"Wait, Baba!" Yangyang abruptly whirls around, panic flashing over his face. "Where's my race car?"

"Don't worry, _baobei_, I got it," Kun goes over to the cabinets on the other side of the living room, grabbing the bright red race car from atop a stack of papers. "Remember to keep _all_ your toys next time, okay? It was outside in the kitchen after you already went to bed."

"Okay, we gotta go _now,_ the bus will be here in two minutes," Ten says impatiently, shooing them out of the apartment. They ride the elevator down to the foyer of their building, and Kun and Ten say goodbye with a quick kiss. Kun, now holding Chenle's hand as he toddles around, murmurs quiet assurances to Dejun as they use the back entrance to the parking lot, where the bus driver is probably waiting for them for the fourth time this month. Ten heads in the opposite direction, pushing the glass door open and unlocking the apartment's gate with his keycard, grabbing Yangyang and Renjun's hands once they walk out into the busy street.

Their kindergarten is within walking distance of their apartment, and so Ten walks them there every morning, before catching the bus to the firm he works at, further into the city. It's certainly a better option than breaking out their hulking nine-seater SUV every morning. Summer has cocooned Seoul in warmth, and in the mornings, before the temperature rockets up towards sweltering, it's actually quite pleasant to trace this route and enjoy the sunshine on his skin. Winter is a horrible nightmare he doesn't want to think about on this nice morning.

It only takes ten minutes before they arrive at the kindergarten, and he brings them into the building to send them off. Yangyang runs off with a loud goodbye, shouting after a classmate he sees down the hallway and showing off his race car. Renjun returns Ten's hug before he, too, skips off to his classroom. Ten watches them go. "See you later!"

He walks out towards the bus stop just outside the kindergarten, running his hand through his hair. His day has only just begun.

**Author's Note:**

> chinese 101 :D  
• kaixinguo (开心果) : literally translates to 'happy fruit'. a nickname for someone with a bright and cheerful disposition. (also the name of pistachio nuts in mandarin)  
• baobei (宝贝) : darling, sweetie
> 
> sicheng will appear soon!! yes he's not part of the kunten family per se but he will still be heavily involved in this fic dw i did not forget my baby
> 
> see you next chapter <3


End file.
